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How Many Times Have You Declined to Post Negative Feedback?

Posted by Mike Currie on March 2, 2003 at 19:17:14

Have you ever hesitated to post negative feedback because you feared retaliation? Yes, this is a blatant troll, but is also a serious discussion that affects all of us who buy and sell on the used market.

I faced this very dilemma over the weekend. In the past, I have bought and sold various items on both Audiogon and eBay, and have built up quite a good feedback performance. So, on Friday I received a set of tubes that were not at all what I expected. After trying (hard!) to resolve the conflict, I decided to go ahead and post the negative feedback, knowing full well that retaliatory feedback was likely. The heart of the matter is that negative feedback is often a buyer's only recourse after other forms of negotiation have failed. Should I have just written the money off and chalked it up to experience? After all, it was only $100. What would you have done?

In my opinion, I have been screwed on this transaction. The facts: a set of 12 'phono grade' 6DJ8s were advertised on Audiogon for $95 for the lot by Mr. Spafford (username Jarvis). He offered to pay shipping. Stupidly, I declined and said that I would add another $5 to help cover shipping. He accepted, of course. Now, I am not naive and knew full well that an offer like this would not include top name tubes. However, his last email back to me BEFORE I SENT THE CHECK said "I'll start testing and MATCHING (caps are mine) and get a really nice group for you". Does the term 'matching' suggest that I would receive pairs of tubes? Apparently not to Chris Spafford - what I received was one pair of Westinghouse (U.S.), and a triple of Matsushitas, two of which test at about 70% on my B&K 707. The rest were singles, including an RCA, another poorly labelled Japanese, and, believe it or not, an Amperex. Problem is, the Amperex tests below minimum. No test results of any sort were included, by the way.

The long and short of it: I asked for my money back. He stated in his last email that "Oh yes-- no returns of course. If the tubes show up here you will forfeit
said tubes."

I should note that three other individuals who have dealt with Mr. Spafford have contacted me today. They, apparently, are unhappy with their own past transactions. I can only hope that my feedback will serve as a warning to potential buyers of the other items he has listed there. Caveat emptor.

Mike

P.S. I should note that as of this writing Mr. Spafford has not posted feedback for me on Audiogon.

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